Finally, Sophia's new room is finished and it looks fantastic! Sophia's 'big girl bed' is exactly what I imagined and the storage capabilities make me squeal every time I set foot in her adorable little room. I think I might update a few of the pictures in the frames and see if I can find some more knick-nacks for her dressers but I think it looks so sweet and is perfect for a growing girl! :)

I'm also still on the lookout for the perfect duvet cover which I'm thinking would look darling in a shade of light yellow but being the bargain hunter that I am...patience is a virtue! It's such a treat seeing Sophia enjoying her new room but what put an even bigger smile
on my face was hearing Chris tell me how much he loves it! Now I've got to start working on color schemes for our new little love's room. We've already got her crib, a dresser (which I think I'll change out the knobs for something very classicly girly), and a bookcase but I'm frantically brainstorming a color scheme. I'm not big on themes in a girl's
room but am a firm believer in buying 'baby' decor that can grow with her. Am I nesting already? As my mama said last night while we were chit-chatting away, now is the stage in my pregnancy where I'm glowing and growing so I'm going to take advantage of all the blessings that come with the second trimester, and get some work done! :) I look forward to
including Sophia in decorating her baby sister's room and am anxiously anticipating the moment where they meet and she truly becomes a big sister. Yesterday afternoon Sophia kissed my especially round belly and said 'I love you baby sister'. Does life get any sweeter? Now off to sit with Sophia in her new room and daydream about my two daughters!

In my ideal world, I always have the kitchen clean...Sophia is always in clothes without any stains... and I am so up to date on my blog that it is overflowing with every crazy little detail of life here in Huntsville. I think back over these last few months and 'sigh' thinking how far life has been from 'ideal'. What is amazing is how incredibly happy I've been living in this 'not so ideal' world...this world where more often than not things don't go as planned. Making it a priority to blog each week is something that I find cathartic, what I call mommy time where I can finally clear my head and put down in words the moments that spoke to me this week. What started off as a simple hobby, an almost lazy way of 'keeping in touch' with friends and family scattered over the country has now turned into something so dear to me, a book of memories that I will look back on one day with pride. It is for those days in the future when I crave the moments in life where Sophia is oh-so little...when things were never ever ideal and when Sophia's clothes were always so perfectly dirty, just like my busy kitchen! :)

What a fantastic weekend last weekend was. One for the record books in my opinion for no apparent reason other than Sophia and I spent some quality time supporting our Marine. Chris officially took 'command' of Kilo Battery on Saturday morning with an official 'Change of Command' ceremony.
It was a very nice ceremony, short and sweet because of the sweltering temperatures but very nice to watch. There is something so spectacular to me about every little career milestone that man of mine accomplishes. I stand at his side so proud for each and every one of these Marine moments and every single time I am brought to tears. Now I am aware that anything from a Folgers commercial to a road sign can make me cry but I've got a very, very soft spot in my heart for what my hubby goes through on a day to day basis and how he always comes out on top. It is in watching these special moments that my mind flashes to so many moments in the past...moments like meeting my Marine, to the day I married my Marine, to sending him off for his first deployment a mere week away from delivering our precious angel and seeing his face the very first time he ever saw his beauty. I see all that he has accomplished since we truly became a family and the father that he has so effortlessly morphed into despite not ever having enough time to spend with his little girl. All this because of his determination to follow a dream he had back in high school to be the best Marine he could be. That is why I swell with pride watching him on days like Saturday and it is in these moments where I am so very honored to call him mine. It is only fitting to have a weekend like this when Father's Day is the grand finale. So many important days have been spent so far away from home, so we take holidays very seriously around here when we can actually give real kisses and feel real hugs. What did Chris want to do this Father's Day? Absolutely nothing but sit around and spend time together so
after a big breakfast shared on the coffee table we did just that...absolutely nothing and I loved every second of it. A homemade blueberry cheesecake finished off our day and as I lay in bed thinking over the day, my newest miracle shared in my excitement showing her Mama how connected we are, kicking and squirming up a storm. This was the first time I had felt her and my what timing! Between finding out earlier in the week that we are expecting another little girl and ending with a perfectly relaxing weekend with Dad...now you understand why my weekend was so fantastic. And my youngest little girl definitely agreed! :)

Our seeds have grown! :) It was just as I expected, Sophia is thrilled! Now let's see if we can keep them alive. I'm thinking soon it'll be time to move them into the ground so Sophia and I will have to find a good spot in our glorious backyard for them!

I found some beautiful cherry tomato plants and Fresh Market yesterday afternoon and I'm thinking that'll be our next project. You know you're growing up when you are no longer talking about plans for the upcoming weekend or the new mixed drink you just discovered and you're rambling on about gardening and tomato plants! I wouldn't have it any other way!

Our Summer in the South!

I've got so much on my mind but have more on my to-do list so instead of a blog full of words, I'm sending you a blog full of pictures! I do hope you enjoy!

Sophia's Sunflower Garden!

A wise woman recently asked me...'In twenty years (because thirty just sounds too far away and twenty doesn't sound as old :) are you going to look back and remember that the floors are spotless, the baseboards are dusted and everything is perfectly in it's place? Or will you remember the moments you spend playing with Sophia and watching her grow?'

It has been something that I've thought a lot about lately and as a military wife, I think sometimes things can so quickly get overwhelming so much so that you lose focus on what is truly important and what can quite simply...wait.

As Chris is in the field until next weekend, Sophia and I started to think about some things to do to help make our new house more like a home while spending quality time together. When we first arrived in Alabama, we were staying with Kathy who is an avid gardener. Her yard looks stunning and she just put in a beautiful veggie garden which makes my mouth
water just thinking about all the veggies of summer. I think being around her has given me the itch to attempt at this whole gardening thing. As a housewarming present for Miss Sophia, Kathy gave her her own little gardening set, complete with a Big Bird gardening bag, tools and some seeds to start some planting. As the sun was setting yesterday, Sophia and I decided to plant some sunflowers! Here are some pictures of our pots that Sophia and I had a blast putting together! I marked on three calendars that we have to water our seeds every day so hopefully we'll have some budding flowers soon. I can't wait to see Sophia's reaction to her flowers growing! Isn't it such a great lesson to teach kids? Not only will Sophia see first hand the beauty in the outdoors but reminding her to water her flowers every day gives her a sense of responsibility and hopefully in the near future, a sense of pride watching them grow. Sophia woke up this morning and ran to the back door yelling FLOWERS, FLOWERS, FLOWERS so I'm thinking it was a great idea! :) Next on my list, maybe a tomato plant or herb garden? Let's not get too crazy! We'll just start with some sunflowers. HA!

Thank you Kathy for everything this week and since we've arrived. It is a blessing having you and Amanda so close.

Fun at the Huntsville Fair!

I just love Memorial Day weekend, don't you? It is a lot like July fourth in a sense with less hooplah. What a great weekend to remember all of those who serve and to give them the 'Thanks' they so very much deserve. A wonderfully, American holiday! :)

Chris, Sophia and I had an especially great Memorial Day weekend shopping the Memorial Day sales for some new furniture AND checking out the local fair! It was a lot of fun once I was drenched in sweat and got past the 90 degree weather with 500% humidity but Sophia didn't seem to notice the heat at all. If you ask her what we did at the fair she'll tell you (hand gestures and all) that we 'rode the chu-chu', went on the 'merry-go-round', slid down the 'BIG slide', rode the 'horsey' and went on the 'big wheel' (the Ferris wheel). I was very impressed seeing Sophia venture out and try so many new things. Between her love for animals and her 'no fear' mentality, she was in HEAVEN and Chris and I had a wonderful time watching her explore her very first fair. A wonderful day! I got my funnel cake, Chris got us all on the Ferris wheel and Sophia had a ball taking it all in! Ah, seeing life through the eyes of our Sophia. What a beautiful way to view the world! It certainly shines a new perspective on every day life...a perspective that I can't believe I ever went without.

So the house is coming along...slowly but surely. It turns out we have A LOT more space in this house than in the houses we've previously lived in but other than an additional playroom for Sophia and an extra bedroom, it is extra space that we need to fill. We've purchased some new furniture so I'm super excited to have everything set up in it's place and start enjoying our new house instead of constantly rearranging and reorganizing. On a really good note, we've met the majority of our neighbors and have truly lucked out. Although there aren't a lot of kids Sophia's age in the vicinity, the neighbors seem wonderful and have been so welcoming. I plan on getting Sophia into a couple fun classes, maybe some gymnastics or ballet classes once a week so that we meet some little one's her age and I can meet some fellow moms. As Chris said today...meeting people always take time, but told me to be patient and soon enough we'll have our routine going with some new friends thrown into the mix.

Speaking of Chris, he's doing great. He's been learning the in's and out's of his new job and loving it. Turns out working with a Reserve Unit is a whole new world so it has been interesting hearing about the differences and seeing how seamlessly Chris has adjusted. Coming up soon is a two week training period and when Chris is back he will officially take command and start preparing for their upcoming deployment! I'm just happy to see him happy, in charge and excited to be working again. He is thrilled to have 'command time', he's happy that he'll get to beef up his resume with a deployment to Afghanistan and he's enjoying working less than ten minutes away from home, where he's been coming to visit Sophia and I for lunch. A little different than his forty-five minute commute to Pendleton!

These days I'm just taking it all in. Sophia's adjusting to her new surroundings and is constantly surprising me, keeping me on my toes. I know that although Chris' deployment is a good eight months out, life takes over and it'll be here before we know it. I try to remind myself not to take anything for granted and to 'live each day like he's deploying tomorrow'. The more organized I am before baby number 2's arrival, the more prepared I'll be for that inevitable day where he leaves all three of us for the call of duty. Such is the life of a Marine Wife! Happy summer everyone!!!!!